In the last decade, several laboratories have investigated extracellular matrix (ECM) protein interactions using self-assembled monolayer (SAM) micro-patterning techniques based on soft lithography, where silicone “stamps” containing micron-sized patterns are generated to “ink” ECM proteins onto two dimensional surfaces, controlling the spatial distribution of cell-ECM attachments, while blocking non-adhesive regions with hydrophilic alkyl thiol groups. However, these techniques utilize thiolated gold coverslips to conjugate ECM proteins. Gold, being an electron dense metal, can dramatically quench fluorescent proteins, thereby reducing the ability to observe labeled proteins using living cells without causing phototoxicity. The current invention is based, in part, on the discovery of improved techniques for micropattern fabrication that do not rely on “stamps”.